The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-12-08
TnR SIERRA NEVADA RANGE.


SAN Francisco. Dec. 4.-rhere Is irag.
ment o! geology connected with the west.
ern slope Of the Sierra Nevada Mountains
on tho Pacific coast, that Is not CO general.
ly known as It deserves to be-. Having
recently been connected with oeries OIL
explorations through that region, have
had occasion TO SEQ the proof Of what be.
lore Was only theory to mo. What l refer
to, the old System OF rivers that ww Ia
existenCs when the Sierras were In thel,
infancy, and baforo they were mountains
Of al. II Is generally the caae that up.
heavalE, as etupsndons 81 that was which
lifted those peaks oil tina Sierras above tle
clouds, have destroyed all the landmarks
that existed there bsioro. But 1t has not
been the case hero. Though the face Of
the earth through the most Of tina. region
where the mountains etand was brok en-
up and changed totally from what It wss,
yet a belt OF country along tho western
base OF that range was little distulbsd,
and 1t TO day remains wonderful psso In
tho geological hiatory Of this shore.
Tho geoRrapher know8 that at the pros.
ent time tho rivers that dreiu this a.clion,
rise In tho summit OF the Sierra Nsyadas,
and low down the western slope to the
Valley Of California. Tho geologlst knows
that 1t was not always 80. There was IN
older System OF rivers than thsss that now
e1'st-o!der than the San joaquin, Mer.
osd, Tuolumue, Mokelumne aud the o. 7
tributaries VI the Sacramento. There Was
tins when the SierIas were not In OK.
iatence. That whole region. where nov
those mountains etand, and whore those
peaks pierce the sky, glittefing in eternal
snoHn, wss once great upland plain,
from ona thousand to two thousand feet
above the SEQ. and extending north aud
south probably six hundred miles or more.
There wero three large rivera flowing
southwark ulong this plain; and l. is Of
tie beds Of these pra.hla.cric rivers that
wish to write In this letter. And wheN
speak Of them, wish to have 1t under.
stood at first thas I AM not relying OIL
mers theory and am not Specializing on
what must have existed. 1t is no matter
Of theory. It 10 fact. The channels Of
| the rivers sre hero and may DO sesn by
any one who will como and look o. them.
OF courge, the channels contain no run.
ming water now, but they ara here to bs
seen. II ia q TACT as we'll ss!sbliahcd as
That the Allegheny mountains or the pyr.
anids Of Egypt are in existence, though il
| Ia not known 10 90 mlny psopls. Hcien.
tiic man throughout the world know It :
and the United States Government knows
1t, and aus spent thousandn OF dollars b Nv.
ing the channels traced snd explored.
The compendium Of the lsat census, in tho
volume on Precious Metals, giyes com
plato lis. OF the ninea that are now at
work in the beds Of thess old a.reams.
don't wish to convey tue idea thst
these channels now arc In the sane con.
dition 10 when the wster hsd int Quit
hoTiEe IN them. In msny places they
arc tIlsd with gravel; and foreats are
growing over them, Gru It is only BY tx.
cavstions that tbs old heds may bs oeer.
In olher places the channels have bsen
| blocked up with lava that has poured into
them from vclGances In the vicinity.
These channels filed with lava are now
tho summisa OF the Cali.o,pia Tatls
Mountains. OF theae mountains, tho mos,
sorde rful in the world, I shall not spss
particularly in this loLlay, but, perhaps, a,
some future time ahall take occasion 10
say something on that subject. In sill
other pisces thess old channels hays %.
iirely disappeared, having been washed
away by the present system of rivers tina,
flow across them, or having besu p!oyed
out by g!scie,s which recently spread
ruin over this whole section and left trEreH
Of their awful and reDistless power.
20, one who now folioTs tho old chan.
1els Ards them broken hera and thsrs,
snd disconnected; bat yet it 10 easily eeen
thst tho different s6ctiona are parts o! the
aams river couiee. BY this means those
ancient rivers have been traced hundrede
Of miles alcng the western base Of the
Sisrras. .'iss ~
eeld that thera vera three OF thoss old
atreaul1. l mem three large ones. There
are many small o1es, in cectione here and
there, that were probably tributaries of
largos onos. There Was one OF tho three
much larger than the two, although the
smallest OF the two wss nearly 81 large SIS
all the present rivers Of California put to.
setber. TIE largest was q mighty stream.
An English geologist who recently m ade
it & study was Of the opinion that the Col.
umbia liver formerly flowed down this
chanrci and emptied into the ocean IA.
to thu Eou.b, probably as far south rs
Mexico, o. the Gulf CT Ualiiornis. Ii such
was the ease, this rivor was then the
largest In North America. But, In ail hum.
bis Difference 10 the opinions Of those iar
more learned on the subject than am,
ppst differ from the opinion of the Fog.
liGhmnn With regard to tho plncs where
the river emptied into the Eep. While, as
isr 60 know, the Columbia may Or rasy
not hsvo flowed down this channel, yet I
have satisfied myself thst the river did not
flow on to Mexico, hut emptied into Lake
rulare, which waa then gulf connected
with tho pscilc OCEAN by the Ssrsite Of
Ca1gusnez and the Golden Gate. salts.
aed myself ca this point only last week.
had traced the cauras Of the old c.ream
away in The north, and had become 60 in.
tercsiad in the matter that, as soon "a
had the lsiause,.I followed 1t south toward
ita enbouchure. I do not kncv whe.her
Columbua, or Balboa, or Ojsda pursued
their explorations with more rapt enthu'
|siasm than did this little scheme Of mine,
to zee where that ancient river had met
tuo eoo' uoktJy Not pus bi4os oauoIb uhti
followed it long sgo and had found out ell
that did; but no one had ever told me,
and 1t was all Ecy 10 ME.
Tho old channel In all tho southern
pa1t, ,ior near q hundred miles, had beer
llled with laws, and now forms the Table
Mountains; Tor the SUBMITS OF thest
mountains are only the bed Of that ancient
stream. When ! had passed south OF the
70 Semite falls, the channel began to bs
econ hero and there, first on the top o
ono hill, then on another, and on another
still loading eouth. Between the hills al
trecas OF the river had been plowed GU
and destroyed by gacisrs aud torrorts o
water, go that l could find the old chsnne
only on the tops of the mountains, tn,
valley between having bsen scooped GU
Isince tha old river ceased 70 flow. Whel
he'd passed Find Gold I no longer hat
tho least difficulty In following tho coure,
Of the river. It was as plain to be seen a
the Streets Of o city; for, from that poin
1t followed the summit Of long, marrow